UNC-Chapel Hill Pharmacy School Ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report

UNC-Chapel Hill Pharmacy School Ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report

A decade of aggressive growth, enhanced efficiency and a focus on improving patient care earns the UNC Eshleman School of Pharmacy the number-one spot in the nation

(Chapel Hill, N.C. – Mar. 30, 2016) — The Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has climbed to the number-one spot in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of the nation’s best pharmacy schools.

“We have always been proud of our rankings and this is another very special year,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “We owe our gratitude to our pharmacy faculty, students and staff who measure their success by the number of lives they have impacted with their care, research and support. They capitalize on our premier location within the Triangle and on our health affairs campus to move forward the collaborations, partnerships and strategic initiatives that make UNC-Chapel Hill one of the best research universities anywhere.”

For the 2017 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” U.S. News surveyed deans and faculty at more than 130 accredited pharmacy schools in the U.S. They were asked to rank the nation’s top schools and their Pharm.D. programs, a professional degree for pharmacists similar to the M.D. for physicians or D.D.S. for dentists. Since Doctor of Pharmacy programs were first ranked in 1997, the school has risen to number one from seventh in 1998 to third in 2005 and second in 2009 and 2014.

“We are extremely gratified to receive this acknowledgment from our peers,” said Bob Blouin, dean of the pharmacy school. “It is important to know that this ranking is not an end unto itself but rather a validation of who we are, what we do and what we believe in as a school. Our continued purpose is to accelerate needed changes in health care, education and research to improve the health of the citizens of North Carolina and the world.”

Since the last U.S. News ranking of Doctor of Pharmacy programs, the School has rolled out a number of initiatives that have contributed to increased opportunities for students and to the quality of its degree programs:

The school is leading preclinical and clinical pharmacology efforts to flush out hidden reservoirs of the virus as part of the $20 million HIV Cure partnership between UNC and GSK.

In 2015 the school launched a reengineered Pharm.D. curriculum that includes more active learning in the classroom, more experience with direct patient care and greater opportunities for students to participate in research activities.

In December 2014, alumnus Fred Eshelman, made a historic $100 million gift to the school to establish the Eshelman Institute for Innovation, which funds and supports high-risk, high-reward proposals developed by school students, faculty and staff. While the institute has only recently made its first awards, the announcement of the gift put the pharmacy school in the national spotlight.

The school founded a satellite campus for Pharm.D. students in Asheville, North Carolina, with the goal of providing more health care practitioners for the western part of the state. The new campus offers a Rural Health Scholars program that prepares students to work with a variety of health care providers in practices that serve the needs of North Carolinians living in rural and small communities.

Funding for the school’s research enterprise has grown from $2.2 million in 2002 to $22.7 million in 2013 (peaking as high as $27.7 million in 2012). The school’s research program have generated 15 companies between 2005 and 2014 and 131 patents over the same period.

To provide students the chance to explore and influence pharmacy practice around the world, the school formed the PharmAlliance partnership with University College London and Monash University and also established the Global Pharmacy Scholars Program.

“This latest ranking reflects the quality of our program and is a testament to the talent, hard work and dedication of our students, alumni, faculty and staff.” Blouin said. “It is also a direct result of the tremendous support we have received from our alumni, the University and the state of North Carolina over the last decade.”

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 113 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.